Louisiana

Louisiana is a state in the south-central United States.

Its population is over 4,600,000.

Its capital is Baton Rouge and the largest city is New Orleans.

History of hockey in Louisiana

On July 28, 1975, it was reported that a special ice hockey program was set for the Fiesta Plaza Skating Rink, located in the middle of the food court of the Lake Forest Plaza in New Orleans, which had opened in 1974. On September 24, 1978, the Atlanta Flames and Minnesota North Stars played to a 4-4 tie in an exhibition game at the Baton Rouge Centroplex. The Elmwood Ice Arena opened in New Orleans in 1979. An amateur ice hockey game between teams representing New Orleans and Baton Rouge was set for March 17. There was a men's hockey league in existence at the rink by early 1980. The rink hosted a hockey tournament in February 1980. The Evansville Chargers thrashed Baton Rouge 13-0, while Houston thumped New Orleans 5-0 on the 23rd, and Evansville went on to beat Houston 6-5 the next day to capture the title.

The Tulane University Green Wave faced the University of Texas Longhorns at the Elmwood Ice Arena on February 28 and March 1, 1981. Tulane had a team in the Southwestern Collegiate Ice Hockey Association in 1981-82. Georgia State, Southern Methodist, and North Texas were the other known universities in the league. Tulane played at the Chateau Village Ice Center in Kenner that year. SMU beat Tulane 4-3 on November 7, 1981. A men's league was in operation at the Chateau Village rink as late as December 1982, but it closed soon after.

The National Sports Festival, America's largest gathering of Olympic-quality amateur athletes, was held in Baton Rouge in August 1985. An ice hockey tournament was played at the Centroplex. Team North defeated Team East 7-2 in the final to win the gold medal. Team West won the bronze, 10-3 over Team South.

Professional hockey came to Louisiana in 1995, when the Louisiana IceGators, based in Lafayette, joined the ECHL. Baton Rouge landed an ECHL franchise, the Kingfish, the following year, and the New Orleans Brass entered the league in 1997. Louisiana also had Western Professional Hockey League teams in Shreveport, Lake Charles, Monroe, and Alexandria. Later the Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs played in the Central Hockey League from 2001-2011, and the Louisiana IceGators were members of the Southern Professional Hockey League from 2009-2016. The Baton Rouge Zydeco joined the Federal Prospects Hockey League in 2023. At the junior level, the Cajun Cataholuas (based in Carencro) played in the Western States Hockey League from 2005-2008, and the Shreveport Mudbugs have been members of the North American Hockey League since 2016.

List of minor pro teams

• Louisiana IceGators - (1995-2005) - (ECHL)
• Baton Rouge Kingfish - (1996-2004) - (ECHL)
• Shreveport Mudbugs - (1997-2001) - (WPHL)
• Lake Charles Ice Pirates - (1997-2001) - (WPHL)
• Monroe Moccasins - (1997-2001) - (WPHL)
• New Orleans Brass - (1997-2002) - (ECHL)
• Alexandria Warthogs - (1998-2000) - (WPHL)
• Bossier-Shreveport Mudbugs - (2001-2011) - (CHL)
• Louisiana IceGators - (2009-2016) - (SPHL)
• Baton Rouge Zydeco - (2023-) - (FPHL)

American States

US Capital: Washington, D.C.

Alabama - Alaska - Arizona - Arkansas - California - Colorado

Connecticut - Delaware - Florida - Georgia - Hawaii - Idaho

Illinois - Indiana - Iowa - Kansas - Kentucky - Louisiana

Maine - Maryland - Massachusetts - Michigan - Minnesota - Mississippi

Missouri - Montana - Nebraska - Nevada - New Hampshire - New Jersey

New Mexico - New York - North Carolina - North Dakota - Ohio - Oklahoma

Oregon - Pennsylvania - Rhode Island - South Carolina - South Dakota - Tennessee

Texas - Utah - Vermont - Virginia - Washington

West Virginia - Wisconsin - Wyoming